Rule 21.Improper Venue

Rule 21 handles venue, and it does something the civil rules do not: it puts the initiative with the court and attaches a hard consequence to the fees.

Transfer on the court's own motion

Where an action has been commenced in an improper county in violation of A.R.S. § 12-401, § 25-502 or § 25-802, the court, on finding venue improper, may on its own motion transfer the case to a county where venue is proper.

There is a window. The transfer must occur not later than 30 days after a resolution management conference has been scheduled under Rule 76 — so the timer runs from the scheduling of the conference, not from filing or from the conference itself.

Before transferring, the court must give the parties notice of its intent and allow 10 days to file objections.

The fees, and what happens if they are not paid

Two payments fall on the petitioner, whoever asked for the transfer:

• the transmittal fee under A.R.S. § 12-284, to the clerk of the transferring court, not later than 20 days after the order; and
• the initial case filing fee, to the receiving court's clerk, not later than 30 days after that clerk receives the file.

Then the sanction: if the petitioner fails to pay either one on time, the court that ordered the change must dismiss the case without prejudice. The verb is mandatory, and it reaches a petitioner who may not have sought the transfer at all.

One softening provision: the court ordering the transfer may order the clerk to refund the petitioner's original filing fee.